Scientists Examine Colossal Squid Found Near Antarctica

By

Associated Press

Sep 16, 2014 12:43 pm ET

A colossal female squid, weighing 770 pounds and thought to be only the second intact specimen ever found, was examined by scientists in New Zealand on Tuesday, with some 142,000 people from around the world watching streaming footage of the exam on the Internet.

One of the sea’s most elusive species, the squid was caught in Antarctica’s remote Ross Sea from a mile below the surface by Capt. John Bennett and his crew. The creature had been frozen for eight

months until Tuesday, when scientists in New Zealand thawed out the animal to inspect it—once they used a forklift to maneuver it into a tank.

Its eight arms are each more than a meter long (3.3 feet). Its two tentacles would have been perhaps double that length if they hadn’t been damaged, scientists said.

Kat Bolstad, a squid scientist from the Auckland University of Technology who was leading a team examining the creature, described it as “very big, very beautiful.”

“This is essentially an intact specimen, which is almost an unparalleled opportunity for us to examine,” she said. “This is a spectacular opportunity.”

Capt. Bennett said that when his crew caught the squid, “it was partly alive, it was still hanging onto the fish.” He added: “They’re huge, and the mantle’s all filled with water. It’s quite an awesome sight.”